Page 76 of Playing With My Heart Strings

The stagehands bring out stools for both of us, and after Baylor takes a seat, I look at her and mouth, “Ready?” She nods, and I start picking the beginning notes of “Don’t Mind If I Do.”

While the song isn’t exactly a sappy love song, the lyrics still prove to be true. Not being able to hold her in my arms every night like a normal couple is killing me from the inside out, and I do my damndest to make sure she knows, locking eye contact and singing the words to her like we’re the only people in this entire venue.

She joins in with the harmonies, and our voices blend seamlessly. When she takes over, singing the last verse on her own, the entire venue falls silent, every single person in attendance listening intently to Baylor.

Listening to my girl.

the confessionals

Producer:First live concert is over. Tell me what’s going through your mind right now.

Katherine:I just can’t believe I actually performed in front of a thousand people tonight and didn’t mess up the words.

Sage:It was surreal. I’ve always dreamed of performing in front of a big audience like that.

Valerie:Like I told Dusty, I’m soaking up every minute I have on stage. On this tour. I never want it to end.

Producer:You and Dusty look like you have a lot of chemistry out there on stage.

Baylor:We understand each other.

Producer:Do you think you’re falling in love with him?

Baylor:Yeah… I think I am.

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baylor

Storm Warning

After the liveconcert in Chattanooga, we come back to Nashville for a couple days before we hop on a plane to Atlanta later this week. We’ll each have a solo date again, but an elimination will take place at the end of the live concert, so it’s important this week to not only further my relationship with Dusty, but also maintain a positive impression with the viewers so I can stay another week.

Because that’s what I want. To stay.

I’m walking through the production building hallway again when I’m yanked into an office.

“Ow!” I yelp. “Dusty, we can’t keep—” I start to protest, but I cut myself off when I see it’s not Dusty who pulled me out of the hallway. It’s Daniella.

“I’m going to ignore what you just said in the name of love, but we need to talk.” She shuts the door and locks it, pulling the shade over the window so no one can see us.

I’ve never seen Daniella act so serious. “What’s going on?”

“I found some information on Aspen, Baylor, and it’s not great.” She huffs out a breath as she sets up her laptop on the desk in the corner.

“Not great, how?” I proceed slowly as my eyes narrow.

“This is how.” She flips the computer to show me what’s on the screen. I have to really train my eyes to understand what’s in front of me. It’s a picture of Aspen singing on a stage, but she looks about four years younger and has blonde hair instead of her current dark color.

“What exactly am I looking at?”

“The background of the image. Look familiar?” She puts her hands on her hips after she zooms in closer on the image. It looks like the set of a television show…oh no.

“There’s no way.” I shake my head.

“She was a fucking contestant on that other singing competition show SSP put on, Baylor. She literally placed third.”

My head starts pounding, and I press my fingers against my temple. “How the hell did no one realize it was her? How didColettenot realize? This is bad, Dani. I worked directly with those contestants. What if she remembers who I am?”

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